Major Program

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication offers an opportunity for media professionals, and recent graduates to expand their education and training within the mass communication field by earning a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree.

Students in the M.A. program take a variety of skills-based and theory courses. The curriculum provides students with the digital and analytic skills needed for the field of mass communication. Students can select to earn the general M.A. in mass communication, or they can decide to declare a concentration in the area of global media, digital media, or strategic communication and take nine hours of coursework centered in their concentration. Courses are offered during the evening, online, or via a hybrid teaching model because a large percentage of students enrolled are working professionals.

Facilities

The Schools' faculty offices, classrooms, Mi lab, media labs, and administrative offices are located in historic Old Main.

Financial Assistance

Graduate assistantships are offered with competitive stipends. Having a graduate assistantship also provides an out-of-state tuition waiver. Assistantship responsibilities include teaching fundamentals of digital media or assisting faculty with research. Most assistantships are assigned in May for the fall term, but assistantships may be available for students who wish to begin the graduate program in the spring.

The School offers limited scholarships for currently enrolled students. Also, the College of Fine Arts and Communication and The Graduate College provide a variety of scholarships for new and returning graduate students. See the various web sites for details.

Application Requirements

The items listed below are required for admission consideration for applicable semesters of entry during the current academic year. Submission instructions, additional details, and changes to admission requirements for semesters other than the current academic year can be found on The Graduate College's website. International students should review the International Admission Documents webpage for additional requirements.

completed online ApplyTexas application

$40 nonrefundable application fee

$50 nonrefundable international evaluation fee (if applicable)

baccalaureate degree in mass communication or journalism from a regionally accredited university

official transcripts required from each institution where course credit was granted

official GRE scores required with a preferred minimum of 303 with no less than 153 in the verbal section, 150 in the quantitative section, and 4.5 in the analytical writing section

The GRE may be waived if you hold a master's or doctoral degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution. If you hold a master's or doctoral degree (or the equivalent thereof) from an accredited international institution, the GRE may be waived on an individual basis.

resume/CV including information about educational background, work experience, and extracurricular activities

statement of purpose (500 words) including academic and professional goals

two letters of recommendation from individuals competent to assess the student’s capacity to pursue graduate education in mass communication. Students who did not major in mass communication as an undergraduate student should submit at least one of the two letters from a professor in the student’s undergraduate major. Students transferring from another institution should submit at least one of the two letters from a professor in the previous institution.

TOEFL or IELTS Scores

Non-native English speakers who do not qualify for an English proficiency waiver:

official TOEFL iBT scores required with a 100 overall

official IELTS (academic) scores required with a 7.0 overall and

minimum individual module scores of 6.5

​This program does not offer admission if the scores above are not met.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Arts (M.A.) degree with a major in Mass Communication concentration in strategic communication requires 33 semester credit hours, including a thesis. All students are required to make a minimum 3.0 GPA in the required courses, a minimum 3.0 GPA in the concentration, and a minimum 3.0 GPA in the electives.

The student must submit an official Thesis Proposal Form and proposal to his or her thesis committee. Thesis proposals vary by department and discipline. Please see your department for proposal guidelines and requirements. After signing the form and obtaining committee members’ signatures, the graduate advisor’s signature if required by the program and the department chair’s signature, the student must submit the Thesis Proposal Form with one copy of the proposal attached to the dean of The Graduate College for approval before proceeding with research on the thesis. If the thesis research involves human subjects, the student must obtain exemption or approval from the Texas State Institutional Review Board prior to submitting the proposal form to The Graduate College. The IRB approval letter should be included with the proposal form. If the thesis research involves vertebrate animals, the proposal form must include the Texas State IACUC approval code. It is recommended that the thesis proposal form be submitted to the dean of The Graduate College by the end of the student’s enrollment in 5399A. Failure to submit the thesis proposal in a timely fashion may result in delayed graduation.

Thesis Committee

The thesis committee must be composed of a minimum of three approved graduate faculty members.

Thesis Enrollment and Credit

The completion of a minimum of six hours of thesis enrollment is required. For a student's initial thesis course enrollment, the student will need to register for thesis course number 5399A. After that, the student will enroll in thesis B courses, in each subsequent semester until the thesis is defended with the department and approved by The Graduate College. Preliminary discussions regarding the selection of a topic and assignment to a research supervisor will not require enrollment for the thesis course.

Students must be enrolled in thesis credits if they are receiving supervision and/or are using university resources related to their thesis work. The number of thesis credit hours students enroll in must reflect the amount of work being done on the thesis that semester. It is the responsibility of the committee chair to ensure that students are making adequate progress toward their degree throughout the thesis process. Failure to register for the thesis course during a term in which supervision is received may result in postponement of graduation. After initial enrollment in 5399A, the student will continue to enroll in a thesis B course as long as it takes to complete the thesis. Thesis projects are by definition original and individualized projects. As such, depending on the topic, methodology, and other factors, some projects may take longer than others to complete. If the thesis requires work beyond the minimum number of thesis credits needed for the degree, the student may enroll in additional thesis credits at the committee chair's discretion. In the rare case when a student has not previously enrolled in thesis and plans to work on and complete the thesis in one term, the student will enroll in both 5399A and 5399B.

The only grades assigned for thesis courses are PR (progress), CR (credit), W (withdrew), and F (failing). If acceptable progress is not being made in a thesis course, the instructor may issue a grade of F. If the student is making acceptable progress, a grade of PR is assigned until the thesis is completed. The minimum number of hours of thesis credit (“CR”) will be awarded only after the thesis has been both approved by The Graduate College and released to Alkek Library.

A student who has selected the thesis option must be registered for the thesis course during the term or Summer I (during the summer, the thesis course runs ten weeks for both sessions) in which the degree will be conferred.

Thesis Deadlines and Approval Process

Thesis deadlines are posted on The Graduate College website under "Current Students." The completed thesis must be submitted to the chair of the thesis committee on or before the deadlines listed on The Graduate College website.

The following must be submitted to The Graduate College by the thesis deadline listed on The Graduate College website:

The Thesis Submission Approval Form bearing original (wet) and/or electronic signatures of the student and all committee members.

One (1) PDF of the thesis in final form, approved by all committee members, uploaded in the online Vireo submission system.

After the dean of The Graduate College approves the thesis, Alkek Library will harvest the document from the Vireo submission system for publishing in the Digital Collections database (according to the student's embargo selection). NOTE: MFA Creative Writing theses will have a permanent embargo and will never be published to Digital Collections.

While original (wet) signatures are preferred, there may be situations as determined by the chair of the committee in which obtaining original signatures is inefficient or has the potential to delay the student's progress. In those situations, the following methods of signing are acceptable:

signing and faxing the form

signing, scanning, and emailing the form

notifying the department in an email from their university's or institution's email account that the committee chair can sign the form on their behalf

electronically signing the form using the university's licensed signature platform.

If this process results in more than one document with signatures, all documents need to be submitted to The Graduate College together.

No copies are required to be submitted to Alkek Library. However, the library will bind copies submitted that the student wants bound for personal use. Personal copies are not required to be printed on archival quality paper. The student will take the personal copies to Alkek Library and pay the binding fee for personal copies.

Master's level courses in Mass Communications: MC

Courses Offered

Mass Communication (MC)

MC 5155. Teaching Techniques in Mass Communication.

Required of, and open only to, graduate teaching and instructional assistants as a condition of employment. This course provides training and planned periodic evaluations of instructional responsibilities. This course does not earn graduate degree credit.

This course represents a student’s continuing thesis enrollment. The student continues to enroll in this course until the thesis is submitted for binding. Prerequisite: MC 5399A and completed course work.

Required of, and open only to, graduate teaching and instructional assistants as a condition of employment. This course provides training and planned periodic evaluations of instructional responsibilities. This course does not earn graduate degree credit.

This course represents a student’s continuing thesis enrollment. The student continues to enroll in this course until the thesis is submitted for binding. Prerequisite: MC 5399A and completed course work.

Investigation of the tools and techniques of both qualitative and quantitative research methods used in the study of mass communication, including surveys, content analysis, experimental designs and case studies.

Provides an overview of the theory and practice of designing, producing and evaluating health-communication campaigns. Examines persuasive approaches to behavioral change as well as audience, message and channel factors in health-campaign development. Emphasizes communication approaches, including mass media, social networking and new media.

Web Content Management Systems. (0-3) Students in this class will develop advanced Web building skills. Specifically, students will be introduced to various Web Content Management Systems and taught how to use these applications to manage content and build Web sites efficiently. Prerequisite or corequisite: MC 5312 with a grade of "D" or better or consent of instructor.

This course provides an in-depth understanding of the technical expertise, research methods, interviewing skills and narrative techniques pertinent to feature writing. The course also explores how to target a feature story to a specific audience and how to submit feature stories for publication to newspapers and magazines, print and online.

This course reviews social cognitive theories and research about the way social media users both produce and consume social media messages. It will examine clinical psychological and psychiatric effects that take place among social media users who do not have a clinical diagnosis.

Content analysis is a systematic way to analyze the content of documented communications, whether they are written, audio/visual or digital. This course will examine the methodological steps involved in conducting a quantitative content analysis, design and execute a content analysis study.

MC 5306G. Crisis Communication Theory and Tactics for the field of Strategic Communication.

The purpose of this course is to examine strategic communication practices throughout the three stages of a crisis event. Special emphasis is placed on crisis planning, media relationships, image restoration, ethical responses, and organizational learning. Corequisites: MC 5302 or MC 5303.

This course will familiarize students with the structure of the mass communication discipline, prominent theorists and historical developments, as well as expose them to the process of research and writing in the discipline of mass communication. Corequisites: MC 5302 or MC 5303.

This course will introduce students to skills for working with data as well as perspectives from which to think critically about the use of data in contemporary society. It will focus on three stages of working with data: collection, analysis and presentation. Corequisite: MC 5302 and MC 5303.

This course analyzes strategic communication of nonprofit organizations serving refugees and asylum seekers. Students are introduced to organizations that serve these marginalized populations in Texas and to the problems, challenges and opportunities these organizations face. Students will conduct research and produce a project on an issue related to this topic. Corequisite: MC 5302 and MC 5303.

This course will expose students to the principles and strategies behind social media campaigns. It will discuss the interactions, channels, SEO, and social media metrics used to gauge the success of a social media campaign. Students will also examine successful social media case studies. Corequisite: MC 5302 or MC 5303.

A major communication effort, the purpose of which is to demonstrate command of the skills necessary to work at advanced levels in mass communication. For example, it may be broadcast documentary, advertising or public relations campaign, or a newspaper series. Prerequisite: Consent of graduate advisor.

This course analyzes advertising and public relations issues using an integrated communication framework. Students are introduced to the advertising and public relations decision-making process, learn what problems real organizations
experience and evaluate how they resolve issues in such areas as client-agency relationships, strategic planning/management, globalization, channel integration, cyber marketing, evaluation, etc.

This course takes a theoretical approach to the study of representations of gender, race, and class in the mass media and the lives of the media professionals who belong to marginalized groups. A historical overview will be followed by an in-depth look at current conditions. (MULT).

This course examines the media systems worldwide in different socioeconomic contexts and studies the patterns of international information flow. The course includes theories governing international communication. Students learn how and
why communication takes place between different nations and the impact of this communication on individual nations. (MULT).

This course will instruct students in Web development and design and address the appropriate usage of text, graphics, sound and video on mass communication
sites. The class will also address social and theoretical implications of technology, such as the digital divide, cyberlaw, e-commerce, and Web credibility and accessibility.

This course offers an analysis and discussion of issues involved in digital and other media ownership and operation, including monopoly and competition, labor relations, human resource management and staffing, the politics of workplace supervision and market relations.

This class examines the psychology of creativity and its application in mass communication to media management, broadcasting, advertising, and public relations. Students learn a variety of ideation techniques and structured creative
problem solving methods to better understand their own creative thinking process, and how to facilitate creative thinking in groups.

This course will examine the role of digital media, including the Internet, Web and mobile technologies. Issues discussed will include social media and cyberculture research, technology diffusion, data journalism and the effects of digital technologies on society and culture.

Students will gain advanced skills in multimedia layout and design. Techniques include audio/video editing, Flash development, and database management as
practiced in the communication disciplines. Theoretical and practical considerations of emerging technologies to the media industry will be integrated with production techniques. Prerequisite: MC 5312 with a grade of "B" or better or consent of instructor.

The study of freedom and responsibilities of mass media practitioners and institutions, explored within the framework of ethical theories. Students will learn
philosophical constructs as well as contemporary ethicists. Consideration of values, codes of ethics, moral development, professionalism, and institutional constraints as applied to media of information, persuasion, and entertainment.

The class will review key literature in the area of mass media and politics and engage in original research related to mass media and statewide, congressional and/or presidential elections. Class focus may vary by professor, e.g. Latinos in the United States.

This course examines multinational advertising and public relations organizations and how they function in a global marketplace. Students learn how these organizations serve specific client needs in increasingly complex societies and cultures.

This course is designed to impart media writing skills. Students will learn information gathering and interviewing skills, and narrative techniques pertinent to different mass media. Emphasis may vary. This course may be repeated with different emphasis.

This course integrates all areas of marketing management and relates media and marketing activities to the other functional areas of the music business, including music publishing, live entertainment, recording companies, and production. Strategic planning and analytical procedures for marketing managerial decisions and their relation with the media will be emphasized.

A comprehensive study of strategic communication campaign planning with emphasis on public relations and advertising. Students will combine theory and practice to develop, coordinate and evaluate advertising/public relations campaigns for key audiences. Prerequisite: MC 5308 with a grade of "C" or better or consent of instructor.

This course examines the principles, theories, and language of visual communication, emphasizing the evaluation and use of images in digital mass media. Students will learn about media influences on their perceptions of reality and their behavior, the elements of visual literacy, and multicultural and global perspectives in visual media.

This course involves discussion, development and analysis of documentary video and digital media. Students will explore digital media techniques used in writing and producing features, documentaries, and related programming. It is designed for the novice student with emphasis on pre- and post-production activities from research to final project.

Students will analyze media systems Latin America within their historical, cultural and political contexts. The course provides a comparative perspective of the role of the media within the region, their national markets and international Latino market. Students will ground these investigations with theories of international communication and information flow.

Students acquire on-the-job experience in an off-campus media setting where they can apply the skills and knowledge acquired through mass communication graduate course work. Requires 180 hours of work off-campus, a written report, and portfolio of work product. Prerequisite: Consent of the graduate advisor and internship coordinator.

This course involves attendance at and coverage of the South By Southwest Interactive Conference. Students will prepare for the event, attend panels, interview participants and produce digital content about the experience.

This course explores innovation and creativity associated with digital entrepreneurship. Through instruction and a speaker series, students will be introduced to important concepts and ideas from thought leaders and innovators at the intersection of media and technology. Students will research and develop their own digital media products.

Students are immersed in programming concepts relevant to communicators. Students will practice document object model manipulation using appropriate software to create interactive Web projects. Prerequisite: MC 5312; A minimum grade of "B" is required in all prerequisites. Corequisite: MC 5336; A minimum grade of "B" is required in all prerequisites.

Students are immersed in data and visualization concepts relevant to communicators. Students will create interactive data visualization projects. Prerequisite: MC5312; A minimum grade of "B" is required in all prerequisites. Corequisite: MC 5335.

A scholarly study of communication behavior, the purpose of which is to
broaden understanding of what mass media do, how they do it, and with what effects. It may be quantitative, historical or rely upon another appropriate methodology. No thesis credit is awarded until student has completed the thesis in MC 5399B. Prerequisite: Completed course work.

This course represents a student’s continuing thesis enrollment. The student continues to enroll in this course until the thesis is submitted for binding. Prerequisite: MC 5399A and completed course work.

This course represents a student’s continuing thesis enrollment. The student continues to enroll in this course until the thesis is submitted for binding. Prerequisite: MC 5399A and completed course work.

This course represents a student’s continuing thesis enrollment. The student continues to enroll in this course until the thesis is submitted for binding. Prerequisite: MC 5399A and completed course work.